With the falloff in residential and commercial construction in many markets, some construction contractors have considered expanding their revenue horizons by investigating contracts funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

However, locating, pursuing, and meeting the requirements of government contracts is vastly different from private sector work. Construction professionals should be aware of some of the key challenges and best practices of government contracting.

To get started, spend some time examining where contract dollars are spent in your area and which companies are winning contracts. The databases at www.usaspending.gov and www.fedspending.org contain a wealth of free information.

Almost all federal procurements must first be publicly advertised through the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) site at www.fbo.gov. Register on this site to receive notices of upcoming procurements in your locality. Be aware that, as many experienced government contractors say, if you are only responding to procurements when they hit the FBO, you are behind the curve.

To read the rest of this article, please go to http://bit.ly/aNE4vf.

Related posts:

  1. Your Taxes: Independent Contractor vs. Employee? Know the Law
  2. Six Tax Tips for New Business Owners